Parasites: Tales of Humanity's Most Unwelcome Guests
Rosemary Drisdelle, . . Univ. of California, $27.50 (258pp) ISBN 978-0-520-25938-6
As Drisdelle, a clinical parasitologist, shows, human parasites come in many forms and use a panoply of strategies to make a living. As she writes, “[H]undreds of species live in human intestines, skin, lungs, muscle, brain, liver, blood, and everywhere else they can find a niche.” They can do remarkable damage to every physiological system, leading to death, blindness, and behavioral changes. Drisdelle discusses amoebae, roundworms, tapeworms, mites, and others, often in too much detail. She also examines the historical context in which some parasites have found their way to us and notes their effect on world events, such as the impact
Reviewed on: 04/05/2010
Genre: Nonfiction
Open Ebook - 280 pages - 978-0-520-94578-4
Paperback - 280 pages - 978-0-520-26977-4